Aria didn't let the bodyguards help. "You don't need to go to the trouble. This bag holds my medical equipment, so I'll just carry it myself. You can do whatever you need to do."She had to meet the grandson of her grandma's old friend, too, and it would be inconvenient if she went around with such a high profile.The bodyguards knew what they should do. "Please come with us, then."Salome couldn't watch this unfold any longer. She bit out, "Are you sure that the invitation card is real?""She's right! Maybe you made a mistake!" Karen yelled louder than anyone else.Karen knew best about Aria's situation. She would never receive a real invitation!Lily bit on her lower lip and pulled on her mother's sleeve. "Mom, this is the York family's villa."Only then did Karen regain her rationality, and she didn't get into an argument with the bodyguards. Her daughter was right. They were at the York family's villa, and she mustn't cause a scene. Jimmy thought otherwise. He'd always l
"Ah," Karen said.Salome sneered. "As if she could get the invitation card anywhere. I had someone deliver it to her.""You did?" Lily was confused. Salome felt a bad headache come on. "My family received three invitation cards. I wanted Constantine to deliver a fake one to her, but he must've gotten it wrong and sent her a real one instead.""That damn girl benefited from this, then!" Karen said vehemently, "You should've given it to me instead, Dr. Gunther."Salome lost all her patience. "I can bring you in with me, so it's the same anyway!"She walked toward the bodyguard and pushed her invitation card forward haughtily. After inspecting the card, the bodyguard stood aside and let her in. Only then did Salome feel like she'd regained some of her dignity. However, her mood plunged soon after, as Karen shouted, "Dr. Gunther, Dr. Gunther! They're refusing to let me in!"Salome turned back and looked at the bodyguard who'd stopped Karen from entering. "What's going on here
The newcomer was dressed fashionably, with pale skin and handsome features. With the pair of red headphones around his neck, he didn't look much like a doctor, but rather a rapper.He sat down beside Aria, muttering, "My grandpa also tells me to do stuff like this. Take care of his old friend's granddaughter, hah. Do I look like I know how to do that?"He looked Aria up and down, his gaze sharp. "You shocked everyone just now, young lady. For you to say that you came from Heartbound Hall, you sure are bold."Aria studied his face for a while, and she said, her gaze meaningful, "Malcolm?"Malcolm's eyes opened wide instantly. He wondered why the young woman before him sounded like his boss when she'd uttered his name. He was convinced he had hallucinated it; anything else was absurd!Malcolm looked at his phone. His boss had never said that she'd come to the seminar, and the last message in their chat was still her refusing an order.That was what he thought! His amazing, powerful
"You're leading a team even if you're useless yourself?" The person who'd interrupted Aria was Constantine, who'd come late. His arm was still limp even now, all thanks to Aria.Constantine sneered coldly, looking at Aria. "Your family is absolutely laughable, Malcolm. Did you really bring some random nobody here?"Malcolm was unperturbed. "And is that any of your business?"Constantine didn't respond to that. Instead, he said to Taron, "Don't say that I didn't remind you, Taron. You shouldn't hang out with good-for-nothing like them all the time. Look carefully at her. Who is she?"Taron had never liked how arrogant he was, so he retorted, "Like I give a damn about that. I don't make friends based on their family background.""That's why I said that you're stupid. You can't tell a pill from another, that's fine, but you don't even know that she's your ex-cousin-in-law." Constantine pointed at Aria. "She's the fake daughter who was kicked out by the Kent family!"What?Taron was
Aria hoisted her wooden chair up and went over to another spot. She sat down again, her legs crossed as she said coolly, "Where did this ugly mug come from? You sure do talk a lot."Ugly mug?A dead silence filled the hall. The expression on Christian's face sure was something. Even his lips were trembling as he gaped in disbelief. "What did you just say?""I said you're ugly." Aria chuckled nonchalantly. "Hear that? If you didn't hear me clearly, maybe consider getting your ears treated.""You little…" Christian's chest heaved in anger. Almost everyone wore expressions of shock. Lily was especially taken aback. Her hands were clasped together as she frowned. What was that?Didn't Aria have feelings for Christian? She'd witnessed how Aria had put herself down just for Christian. So why was this happening now?Lily took a deep breath. Christian looked like a clown still stuck onstage. "Did you forget how you begged me just to look at you for a second, Aria?""No woman i
"Thank you for coming despite how busy you are, everyone. I'm very thankful."Lorelia walked down the stairs, clad in a black evening gown. She raised her head and looked at the people in the hall, her bearing intimidating. Malcolm took a deep breath abruptly. "It's been a long time since I'd last seen her, but she's as formidable as always."Aria raised a brow. "You know her?""She's the eldest daughter of the York family. She joined the army before, but I think she's managing a business now," Malcolm added, "You'd better not let loose in front of her. She can send you flying with just a punch."Aria heeded his advice. She lowered her head and chewed on another piece of candy, looking innocuous. Lorelia was a beautiful woman with sharp and deep-set features. It was obvious that she'd been taught well despite her fierce appearance. "My family has prepared a small gift for everyone." She clapped her hands, and a gift box rose beside everyone's seats. The box's contents were
"Yes, it's elvenroot," Aria said, "When you store elvenroot, you should avoid exposing it to strong sunlight, and the temperature shouldn't be higher than 68 degrees Fahrenheit. It's 75 degrees outdoors now. This is also when the UV radiation is the most intense."I'm storing the herb inside my bag so as to preserve its medicinal value. Does a member of the Gunther family not even possess such basic medical knowledge?"The room erupted in chatter the moment she said that. Constantine was still sneering at her. "As if I'd buy any of that bull—""Be quiet, Constantine!" Salome barked.Constantine was stunned. He turned sideways to look at the expression on Salome's face and also at everyone's gazes that were focused on him. Panic showed on his face. Had Aria really hit the nail on the head?Someone laughed, saying, "I expected nothing less from Georgina's student. She has a good intuition when it comes to identifying herbs." The speaker was Wendell Claude, the head of the Clau
"Please enter, everyone!" Lorelia gestured with a flourish. The walls of the hall seemed to ripple for a moment, then receded to reveal several ornately decorated consultation rooms.The doctors would have to form groups and treat those patients. Salome was the first to make a move. She was eager to show everyone what the Gunther family was capable of, especially to Aria. All the patients the York family had found were difficult to treat. Every group of doctors who had entered the consultation rooms stayed a long time in there and came out looking solemn. The doctors from the Gunther and Short families were the only exceptions; they came out with smiles on their faces. Even Zephyr found it somewhat difficult. Fortunately, he also managed to issue a prescription. Many doctors couldn't even figure out what illnesses those patients were afflicted with. They came out muttering under their breaths like students who'd just been done with their exams."What illness is the third pa
Everyone in the café had been enjoying their afternoon tea when they heard the commotion. They turned to look. "Where's the server?" Nisa called out. These rich ladies were all regulars who paid hefty annual membership fees. At their summons, the manager appeared with a smile before any server could respond. "Mrs. Guetta, how may I help you?" "Jonah, perfect timing. I was wondering when this place started letting country bumpkins like her in," Nisa said, her gaze sweeping over Lily. Without hesitation, Jonah Marx kicked Lily out. At that same moment, Aria arrived for their appointment. Traffic had been terrible. She had only agreed to meet Nisa because she needed to uncover something important. In her dreams, there was still one voice that hadn't appeared. The owner of that voice had harmed her mother, Fiona. She would never feel at peace until she dug out the person behind it. Aria was never worried about threats from others. For instance, she knew about Lily's wild accu
Dorian was grinning from ear to ear, showing none of the dignity expected from someone of a prominent family. He had less class than a common street hustler. The members of the Chamber of Commerce had good reason to look down on him. Dorian didn't believe that Neval, who was addicted to gambling, wouldn't return to the country for at least ten years. Once they took down the Grisham family, he'd be calling all the shots in the Chamber of Commerce! Dorian truly took after Magdalene in this aspect. The latter embodied all the worst traits of her generation—a twisted mindset and was always scheming something. Also, she was arrogant and had a superiority complex. Magdalene didn't want Neval to return, which explained why she'd readily given him money. She thought that Waymond would soon be arrested. Then, the Grisham family would go from riding high to crashing and burning, and Aria would pay the price. These were already set in stone! The prominent families' joint effort to targe
In the Fitzroy family, only Neval saw things clearly, despite being a screw-up. Everyone else was blinded by their own arrogance. Laura, of course, never saw it that way. Perhaps too much time had passed, which made her forget how she had married into the Grisham family in the first place. She had also forgotten what it meant to be grateful. Without the Fitzroy family's involvement, Orion's long-standing attempts to sabotage Waymond would have failed. This had been an unspoken secret between the two families for years. Magdalene had always been the head of the Fitzroy family. The best thing about her younger son, Dorian Fitzroy, was that he would always follow her orders. Neval wasn't her biological son, but Dorian was. As a child born in her later years, Dorian was showered with love. Now, he sat at the meeting place where several families had agreed to gather. "How do you plan to deal with Aria?" The Guettas were the ones who had organized this meeting. They used to keep
Magdalene said, "In the past, our family had helped the Grishams to survive. But now..." She took a sip of her tea. "They're digging their own grave, and we can't help them anymore." Just as she finished speaking, a middle-aged man walked in. When Magdalene saw him, her brows immediately furrowed. Her eldest son, Neval Fitzroy, was her least favorite child. He had brought nothing but shame to the Fitzroys. If he hadn't developed a gambling addiction, the Fitzroy family wouldn't have fallen this far. She asked, "What are you doing here?" Neval rubbed his hands together and snickered. "Mom, I'm a little short on cash lately. I mainly came because I missed you, but I'm also here to ask for a little money." Before Magdalene could respond, Laura stood up. "Neval, Mom just gave you 20 million last month. You shouldn't have spent it so quickly." Magdalene had been in a good mood, but now her face darkened. "Did I raise you to leech off me? How could 20 million dollars be gone so
Orion slammed his fist hard on the table. He'd been played by someone who looked like nothing more than a trust fund kid. Yet he had no choice but to let Aria manipulate him. Because no matter what he said, someone would show up to "take care of" him. At this point, he could only make everything look like a simple financial crime in order to protect himself. Aria had calculated this perfectly and planned accordingly. Even now, most people saw Aria as just some young hotshot who made money but didn't understand the bigger picture. They thought because she came from a small town, she was naïve enough to believe taking down the Draycott family would solve everything. In reality, she would be dragging herself down as well. Unless she didn't plan to stay in Ludwiten at all! Most people who thought this way were driven by pride and jealousy. They wouldn't admit they wished they were in Aria's shoes. The Carvers had raked in so much money from the stock market this time around. The
"Yes, I'm sure," Gabe said, having checked everything carefully. The old man thought for a moment. "Find a way and get someone else to tell Orion what he should and shouldn't say. If he's smart enough, he should understand." "Alright." Gabe pushed up his glasses. "Don't worry; everything will be handled." The old man's eyes were deep and calculating. "To achieve great things, some people must be sacrificed. If necessary, offer the Draycott family some benefits. Go take care of the Bellebrook situation." Gabe chuckled. "They're just some greedy, low-class people. They only succeeded because of you, yet they always think they made it on their own." "Gabe, mind your words." The old man had a kind face. Looking at him, one would think he cared for all people. Judging from his simple lifestyle, he did not seem like someone who would do bad things at all. Even the cup he used was bought from the supermarket for just over ten dollars. "Go now. As I've always said, anyone can l
Aria's question made Orion freeze right away. The scholarship program was his secret lifeline. He simply couldn't figure out how she knew so many details about everything! "You've been setting me up in the stock market all this time. How did you also find out about the scholarship program?" Orion felt genuinely scared now—everyone had really underestimated Aria. When had she done all this research? She'd dug deeper than he ever imagined. The scariest part was that neither he nor that person had noticed anything. They all thought she was just helping the Carver family restore their former glory. Keeping the Chamber of Commerce out of the Carver family's hands was that person's strict order. That was why the Draycotts had climbed so quickly within the organization over the years. They all assumed Aria had come to Ludwiten to target the Chamber. But now... Orion looked up again. "The scholarship program is weird business. I only handled recruitment. I don't know where those peop
Orion said, "I don't know much, honestly." He looked at Aria with hesitation, as if he was afraid to name that person. He made a gesture instead. "That person is the lieutenant governor of Ludwiten, who has many achievements to his name. "If you're brave enough to investigate, I can tell you about the deals I handled. But I don't know about the rest." Aria raised an eyebrow. Her expression said everything—she had already kidnapped him, so did he seriously think she would be afraid to investigate this further? Orion took a deep breath. "I just handle the money. That person wants something bigger—he wants to make history, but he's been in poor health lately. He needs me to keep certain people in line, but I can't give you details since I really don't have proof." "Which people does he control? And how does he do it?" Aria asked casually. Orion glanced upward, his eyes slowly losing focus. "I have no idea which people." "Mr. Draycott, I thought you would have learned by now.
"Who the hell are you?" Orion shouted as he couldn't hold back anymore. He gripped the armrests hard, almost jumping out of his chair. But Aria barely glanced his way. "I brought you here, didn't I? Who do you think I am?""Y-You're..." Orion remembered a rumor from a business dinner about a Special Missions Unit that operated outside normal chains of command. They could investigate anyone without going through regular channels.Their authority even topped the Regular Missions Unit. Orion had laughed it off back then. Every group had to answer to someone higher up, so there couldn't be a unit with that kind of freedom. In Ludwiten, everyone answered to that one big shot. But now he realized such a thing actually existed!Orion's face turned ghostly pale. "Are you… a part of the Special Missions Unit?"Only that could explain everything! With all her digging and investigating, that person would have noticed what she had been doing. But Orion did not understand something. "